Abstract
Impulsivity and risk-taking are known to have an important impact on problematic substance use and criminal behavior. This study examined the predictive value of baseline self-report and behavioral impulsivity and risk-taking measures [Delay Discounting Task (DDT), Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) and Behavioral Inhibition, Behavioral Activation Scale (BIS/BAS)] in 12-months follow-up substance use outcomes (e.g., use of alcohol, cannabis and other substances) and criminal recidivism (yes/no). Participants were 213 male offenders with a substance use disorder (SUD) under probation supervision. Bivariate regression analyses showed that BIS and BAS levels were associated (respectively) with the use of alcohol and cannabis. Multiple regression analysis showed that BIS was negatively associated with alcohol use at follow-up, whereas cannabis use at baseline and BAS predicted cannabis use at follow-up. At a trend level, interactions between delay discounting and risk-taking, and interactions between baseline cannabis use and BAS and BART predicted cannabis use at follow-up. Other substance use at follow-up was solely predicted by baseline other substance use. Overall, the findings provide marginal support for the predictive utility of impulsivity and risk-taking in accounting for variability in substance use among offenders with a SUD. This may be partly explained by the fact that only a limited number of psychological factors was assessed in this study. The studied population consists of a severe group, in which relapse into substance use or criminal behavior likely is related to complex, interacting biopsychosocial factors, of which impulsivity measures play a relatively small part.
Highlights
This article examines the predictive utility of self-report and behavioral impulsivity and risk-taking measures on substance use in offenders with a substance use disorder (SUD)
The purpose of our study is to examine the predictive utility of baseline self-reported and behavioral impulsivity and risk-taking measures, and interactions between impulsivity factors and baseline substance use and impulsivity measures on follow-up use of: (1) alcohol; (2) cannabis; (3) other substance use; and (4) criminal behavior in offenders with a SUD, using a self-rated measure of impulsivity (BIS/BAS) and behavioral measures of impulsivity (DDT) and risk-taking propensity (BART)
We aimed to investigate the predictive value of impulsivity (DDT and BIS/BAS) and risk-taking (BART) measures for substance use and criminal recidivism at follow-up in a sample of substance using criminals
Summary
This article examines the predictive utility of self-report and behavioral impulsivity and risk-taking measures on substance use in offenders with a substance use disorder (SUD). Central to many dual-process theories about SUDs are the higher impulsivity and diminished control functions, compared with a focus on more immediate rewards, and responsivity towards drug-related cues, as for example in the I-RISA (Impaired-Response Inhibition Salience Attribution) model by Goldstein and Volkow (REF; Goldstein and Volkow, 2002; Verdejo-García and Bechara, 2009). This makes persons with SUDs who both experience a high reward responsivity to drug cues (e.g., by a higher cue reactivity, and a focus on more immediate rewards), in combination with less cognitive control—as for instance in higher impulsivity more vulnerable to relapse. Impulsivity and risk-taking are associated with substance abuse and crime in general, these associations may differ across crime-types (e.g., violent, nonviolent; Cherek et al, 1997) and classes of substances (e.g., cocaine, heroin use; Bornovalova et al, 2005)
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